My Branding Process*
Working with a creative firm to create a new logo or brand for your company can be daunting, but it’s also really exciting. Here’s a top-level overview of what you can expect from a branding process as we tackle this challenge together.
1. DISCOVER
This crucial initial phase is where I’ll rely on you to help me get to know as much about your new product or service offering as possible. This information will form the creative brief which will help guide the creative direction. We’ll define your communication goals, audience and more which will later be used to measure the success of the creative. Once we’ve settled on a creative brief, I’ll begin a research phase, including a competitor analysis, prior to beginning any creative work.
2. CRAFT
Now we’re ready for the fun part and the bulk of the hard work. I’ll start on some sketches and rough digital concepts that I’ll iterate on, following different creative threads across my sketchbook and artboard. The best of these will be refined into the polished solutions that will make up the presentation.
3. REVIEW
Once I’ve selected the logos that I feel are most successful in answering the brief, I’ll prepare a presentation that outlines each direction. Here I’ll explain the rationale behind each, often with usage examples to help you visualize them in context. It’s best to take some time here considering your target audience carefully to avoid knee-jerk reactions based on personal tastes.
4. REFINE
This is your opportunity to provide feedback to help hone the concepts and really target in on a final solution that speaks to your audience.
5. DELIVER
Upon approval, artwork files are delivered in a variety of file formats and color spaces along with a usage guide that outlines dos and don’ts and other important information about your brand.
* NOTE: Most graphic designish projects follow a process similar to this.
My Illustration Process
Now if we’re talking illustration, the process is a little bit different. Because crafting an illustration is a time-intensive exercise, I’ve added a few distinct touchpoints along the way to lock down a solid direction before committing the concept to polished artwork.
1. DISCOVER
We’ll still look at your communication goals, audience etc., which is again the lens to gage the success of the artwork. But in addition to these creative brief pillars we’ll also dig into a desired illustrative style. This is typically done via mood boards of existing inspirational artwork that will inform the look and feel of the illustration.
2. SKETCH
Once the art direction is set, we’re ready to get the pencils out and start on some rough concepts that I’ll review with you for broad conceptual approval. These are rough enough to be quick, yet detailed enough to convey what the final deliverable will be, when viewed alongside the mood board. This is a the perfect time to explore different conceptual directions in the rough stage before a lot of time has been put into refining the artwork - so don’t withhold any feedback at this stage!
3. REFINE
With an approved concept direction in hand I’ll start refining the illustration, applying the chosen style to the concept sketch framework. This can be done in Procreate or Illustrator or often a combination of both.
4. REVIEW
Next we’ll have another review session with opportunities for feedback. At this stage we have applied the bulk of the allotted time to the illustration and we’re simply looking to make minor revisions and color tweaks that will push the concept over the top.
5. DELIVER
Upon approval of the final illustration, artwork files are delivered in the format appropriate to the final application. This could be as simple as a jpg for a social post, or a complex color-separated, print-ready vector file for a t-shirt.